This vegetable and soured cream pot from the Thermomix® is a stew where nothing catches on the bottom. The roux in the mixing bowl only works because the vegetable stock is poured in slowly, not all at once.
We have been making this dish for years, and the reason is straightforward: the Thermomix® steams the vegetables in the Varoma above while the stock for the sauce simmers below. One appliance, two levels, no extra pots.
All-in-One Vegetable and Soured Cream Pot, Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 16 ✓
- 500 g potatoes
- 100 g celeriac
- 200 g kohlrabi
- 200 g carrot
- 100 g pointed cabbage
- 500 g vegetable stock
- 1 onion
- 40 g butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 400 g soured cream
- 2 tsp marjoram
- 2 sprigs parsley
Instructions 0 / 14
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1
Peel the potatoes.
Peel the potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces and place in the simmering basket.
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2
Celeriac and kohlrabi.
Peel the celeriac and kohlrabi, cut into bite-sized pieces and place in the Varoma.
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3
Carrots.
Wash the carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces and place in the Varoma.
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4
Pointed cabbage.
Wash the pointed cabbage, cut into strips and place in the Varoma.
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5
Cook.
Pour the vegetable stock into the mixing bowl, insert the simmering basket, place the Varoma on top, close it and cook for 25 min / Varoma / speed 1.
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6
Keep warm.
Remove the Varoma, lift out the simmering basket and keep the vegetables warm.
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7
Cooking liquid.
Empty the mixing bowl and reserve the cooking liquid.
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8
Chop the onion.
Peel the onion, halve it, place in the mixing bowl and chop for 5 sec / speed 6, then scrape down with the spatula.
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9
Sweat.
Add the butter and sweat for 3 min / Varoma / speed 1 without the mixing bowl lid.
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10
Thicken.
Add the flour and cook for 1 min / Varoma / speed 1 without the mixing bowl lid.
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11
Add the cooking liquid.
Set the Thermomix® to 3 min / 100°C / speed 2 and slowly pour in the cooking liquid through the lid opening during this time.
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12
Season.
Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, soy sauce, soured cream and marjoram and cook for 3 min / 100°C / speed 2.
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13
Prepare the parsley.
Wash the parsley and pick off the leaves.
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14
Serve.
Place the vegetables in a bowl, pour the sauce over them, garnish with parsley and serve.
Tip: You can also jazz up the stew with Debrecziner sausages or frankfurters.
Nutrition per serving
Why the stock must go in slowly
The roux made from butter and flour needs a moment to combine with the cooking liquid. If you add the stock all at once, the flour lumps immediately. Pouring it in slowly at speed 2 gives the flour time to absorb the liquid without forming lumps.
We set the Thermomix® to 3 minutes at 100°C and speed 2, then pour the cooking liquid in through the lid opening during that time. The blade keeps turning and distributes the liquid evenly through the roux. The result is a smooth, thickened sauce with no extra stirring needed.
Vegetable order in the Varoma
Potatoes go in the simmering basket because they take the longest and cook fastest directly over the steam. Kohlrabi, celeriac, carrots and pointed cabbage go into the Varoma tray. After 25 minutes at Varoma setting, everything is cooked through with a little bite, and the potatoes do not turn mushy.
Cut the vegetables into roughly equal-sized pieces. Uneven pieces cook unevenly, so some end up too firm while others fall apart.
Soured cream goes in after thickening
Soured cream goes into the sauce after the roux, not before. If you add it too early, it can separate. The thickened roux stabilises the sauce, so the soured cream cannot curdle. We add it together with the seasonings and let the sauce simmer for 3 minutes at 100°C on speed 2.
Marjoram is the defining spice in this stew. Without it, the sauce tastes generically of soured cream and vegetables. With marjoram, the dish takes on an earthy quality that is reminiscent of proper home cooking.
Fresh parsley, not cooked in
Parsley is scattered over the finished stew as a garnish, not stirred into the sauce. Parsley cooked into the dish loses both colour and flavour. Scattered over the top fresh, it stays green and gives a bright contrast to the creamy sauce.
Soy sauce as the umami anchor
1 tablespoon of soy sauce in the soured cream sauce lifts the flavour without tasting of soy. The sauce feels rounder and less flat. Without soy sauce the stew lacks depth. With it, there is more to it than just cooked vegetables in a cream-based sauce.
Sausages for added protein
Debrecziner or frankfurter sausages work well in this stew if you want to serve it as a main course. Slice them and add them to the Varoma after cooking so they heat through. Do not cook them alongside the vegetables or the skins will split.
Smoked tofu also works as an alternative. Cut into cubes and steam with the vegetables in the Varoma. The smoky flavour gives the stew a hearty note without using meat.
Freezing or storing in the fridge
The stew keeps in the fridge for 3 days. Store vegetables and sauce together in a sealed container. When reheating on the hob or in the microwave, add a splash of water because the sauce thickens as it stands.
Freezing works, but potatoes turn floury after thawing. If you want to freeze the stew, leave out the potatoes and cook them fresh when you reheat it.
More vegetarian Thermomix® dishes: Vegetable platter with rice and herb sauce.
How other recipes approach this dish
Goes well with: Schnitzel and meatloaf.
Also goes well with: Koenigsberger Klopse (Thermomix® meatballs in caper sauce).
Most recipes online take a different approach. Classics like Bauerntopf (farmhouse pot) use 500 g of minced meat with peppers and onions, with creme fraiche stirred in after cooking. Others cook rice separately in a rice cooker and serve the stew alongside. We keep it vegetarian on purpose, because the vegetables with soured cream and marjoram stand on their own and do not need meat. The Varoma method is also uncommon: most recipes cook everything in the mixing bowl one after another, whereas we use both levels at the same time. A cheese topping for gratinaeing appears in some casserole versions, but here it would clash with the creamy soured cream sauce.
